Yes dear, whatever you say dear...

What a glorious if somewhat 'brass monkey' day! Freezing cold, clear bright sunny day and a fresh dusting of snow. My friend Barry who lives in Hornsea, on the East Yorkshire coast reports three inches of fresh laying snow this morning.

In an earlier blog in October I told the lamentable tale of Citibank and their dreadful customer focus in taking two hours to not answer the phone when I was trying to activate the account and deposit a few quid in what was a new account I had previously just opened on line. After I eventually activated it after yet another interminable wait listening to recorded messages about how important the call was, I couldn't access the account on line. I rang the helpline and a very patient woman from the other side of the world tried to get me into my own account and couldn't explain why she couldn't. A new PIN was ordered to hopefully 'reset the system' and I would have no problem. Guess what? The PIN duly arrived and I still can't get into the system to access or work with my cash.

I have written a letter this morning using old fashioned method of snail mail to cancel the account and transfer the money to my normal bank account which I have been using on-line for years without a hitch. It's only a relatively small amount of cash, but I would have used the account for what little savings I make because the interest rate is good.

I was going to go into the garden today to do some pruning ready for the spring, but the frost and snow has stopped me doing that although I have got the bug to get out and get it done because some bits and pieces have started to arrive from plants and stuff I've ordered on line for the summer. A small bay tree has come and it's in the conservatory waiting for the worst of the frosty weather to go before I can put it out in a sheltered spot. My last one died as it reached about three feet tall, so I hope to have better luck with this good looking little specimen.

The problem living 'up north' is that stuff that isn't fully hardy can't be risked outdoors always unless it's really well sheltered. My trouble this year is that I'm replacing bedding plants which I put in the borders and tubs with shrubs because of the squirrels digging everything up so choosing stuff that is interesting and has colour has not been easy. J Parker's catalogue and Sutton's seed catalogue have been very useful in planning and I've spotted some interesting plants for the shady spots I need to fill as well some good advice in the BBC Gardeners World magazine.

I haven't told her indoors what it's cost! and I still need to source some suitable soil to replace the old multi-purpose compost I normally use in the tubs. I have relented and I'm going to have some flowers in baskets hanging from brackets on the walls, so at least I'll have a few bright colours and I've gone for a pink collection of flowers and a red collection.

I hope you enjoy the weekend, my cold is still hanging on so I may just use the excuse for taking it easy for the next couple of days. A trip to the council tip this morning was partly successful except they will not take shredded paper into the paper bin and they insist in me putting it in the general waste hopper that is not recycled - WHAT'S THE POINT!

I thought I would muse about marriage and relationships again but don't blame me... perhaps this one is more biased toward us guys this time (I do try to be balanced and neutral but it's sooooo hard) it's the way it is - honest guv!

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from M&S.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337 (according to a daily newspaper but then it does have a red top!)
A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favourite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes.
There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Our Trip to Norfolk

Arrived home safely from our family history trip to Norfolk after travelling on country roads and in one piece to boot. The picture above shows the picturesque Holy Trinity church at Stow Bardolph, a village just north of Downham Market.

Wow, a hectic week firstly visiting the archives at the Norfolk County Council in Norwich then the villages where the ancestors lived in Norfolk from around the 1830s to the 1890 when they all dispersed to the four winds. Despite one day of light rain, Norwich is a lovely place, the atmosphere is friendly and the city itself attractive with fascinating architecture.

The archivists couldn't do enough to help us and we filled in some gaps to the family tree and discovered some things we need to do more research on to firmly link them in to the family. The best thing to report is that we were allowed access to a tithe map of 1840 showing the land that Francis farmed with his sons and brothers in Stow Bardolph Fen. (A tithe map is a huge canvas map (pictured below measuring 8' by 10' all hand drawn of course) which shows the parcels of land they farmed and how much they paid to the Church in tithe and how much they paid to the land owner - the Hare Family, in rent. )
We visited Wimbotsham - pronounced 'Wim - bow - shum' where one of the wealthier ancestors was buried. He owned a pub in the village called the White Heart Inn, no longer there.

We called in and spent some even more time at Stow Bardolph, a beautiful little hamlet where the ancestors were baptised, married and sent off on their way at their funerals.

Our final port of call was across the river from Stow Bardolph to Stow Bardolph Fen where the family lived and farmed reclaimed land. At a farmhouse there which was built in 1870 and replaced my ancestors farmhouse which fell down because it was built on peat, we met the current owners who kindly invited us in eager to hear the history of who had farmed the land before them - they were very helpful, delightful in fact.

A hugely successful and enjoyable break away - the car performed beautifully, the weather behaved, by and large, and we learned much about those long gone, but who contributed a small part of who I am today. My wife deserves thanks for being patient (she enjoyed the experience too!)

You have all been so busy - I have loads of blogs to catch up on while her indoors is catching up on the three hundred and seventeen programmes she recorded on Sky+.

By the way, I am still holding on, waiting for Citibank to answer the phone so I can activate my account... We are sorry to keep you waiting. Our team of personal bankers is eager to take your call and will be with you as soon as possible - arrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

The good old days - waiting for two hours on the phone!

At the time of writing, I have been waiting two hours and one minute (which must be nearly a record) for a bank, in fact Citibank, to answer its telephone. I have opened an account on line in minutes some days ago, and they have sent me details of the account through the post, but before I can use the account, I have to call them on a number to activate it. In between high volume crackling classical music hurting the ears, the following patronising, monotone, meaningless announcements are made roughly every fifteen seconds:

"We are sorry to keep you waiting. Our team of personal bankers is eager to take your call and will be with you as soon as possible.

"We are currently experiencing a high demand for our savings products. You can apply for a savings account by visiting our website at www.citibank.co.uk alternatively, to speak to an advisor, please continue to hold."

I honestly believed these days had gone. Where is the professionalism? Even call centres abroad, whilst not ideal are better answered quickly than waiting for what seems like an eternity wasting your life on a Friday night.

As a new customer, this hardly inspires confidence. I can't even complain by using their 'contact us' on line service because I have to activate the account obtaining user names and passwords before I can log in!

Although I was determined to hold on and say my piece when the unsusecting customer services advisor answered, I finally got defeated! I put the phone down at 19.38 hours. Twenty to six I started!

NOT a good start to the weekend!

Today's story as you can imagine is topical.

A man walks into the bank, banged his fist on the counter and said to the female clerk behind the window, "I want to open a bloody account - NOW!"
"I beg your pardon?," replied the clerk, "What did you say?"
"Listen damn you, I want to open an bloody account NOW."
"I'm sorry sir, we don't tolerate this kind of behaviour and language here." With that she left the window and reported his behaviour to the manager.
The manager appeared and said, "What seems to be the trouble sir."
"I've won £14,000,000 on the lottery and I want to open an account in this God-forsaken damned bank NOW!"
"I see," the manager replied, "And this bitch is giving you a hard time?"

Chat soon

Ta-ra.